What you need to know:
* Georgia State outlasted rival Georgia Southern in a defensive battle to win the Sun Belt Basketball Championship Sunday afternoon.
* Kevin Ware scored a game-high 18 points en route to being named the tournament's MVP.
* Ware was joined on the all-tournament team by Markus Crider and R.J. Hunter.
NEW ORLEANS - Behind a game-high 18 points by tournament MVP Kevin Ware, Georgia State earned a 38-36 win over Georgia Southern in a defensive slug-fest on Sunday afternoon at Lakefront Arena to earn the school's third ever bid to the NCAA tournament.
Georgia State (24-9) won its fifth-straight and ninth of its last 10 games to advance to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2001. GSU shot 32.6 percent from the floor while Georgia Southern was held to 22.9 percent shooting by GSU's stifling defense.
The Panthers led for nearly 30 minutes compared to just 34 seconds in front for the Eagles. Although the score was even only three times, the teams were tied for more than nine minutes of play.
Behind Ware, Sun Belt Player of the Year R.J. Hunter was the second highest scorer in the game with nine, but was just 3-of-15 from the floor, including 1-for-7 from behind the arc as he faced constant double-teams. Markus Crider chipped in eight points and grabbed seven boards.
“I'm really proud of my kids. The first thing I told them before the game, absolutely nothing has come easy for us this year: from injuries, then we end up with an injury, to what Kevin Ware has gone through. Everywhere we go, there have been great crowds and people taking us out. We sat there after the Little Rock game after we lost and everyone thought we wouldn't get the #1 seed. I'm grateful for these guys because it was a struggle, but it's supposed to be a struggle. I'm proud of these guys. They're the most resilient group of kids I've ever coached in my life.”
Georgia State took an early 6-1 lead, holding Georgia Southern with a field goal for the first 6:02 of the game. The Panthers pushed the lead to a game-high seven points,13-6, 13 minutes into the game as both teams struggled offensively from the floor early.
The defenses dominated for both teams as Georgia State went into the locker room leading 19-16 while holding Georgia Southern to just 24.0 percent shooting the first half. Ware scored 11 points in the first half as the Panthers were held to 34.8 percent shooting.
Georgia Southern took its only lead of the game 30-29 with 9:28 to play in the second half on a layup by Kyle Doyle. Ware responded immediately with a 3-pointer from the corner to put the Panthers back ahead by two just over 30 seconds later.
Two free throws by Jelani Hewitt tied it at 32 with 8:11 to play. The scored remained tied for nearly three minutes as neither team was able to score until Hunter hit a layup at the 5:29 mark to put the Panthers up by two.
Hunter's layup proved to be the final field goal of the game as neither team made a bucket over the last five minutes of play. The last eight points for both teams came from the free throw line, starting when Eric Ferguson hit a pair at the line to knot the score again at 34 with just over five minutes to play.
Georgia State jumped back in front by two when Crider hit two free throws at the 3:24 mark. Trent Wiedeman then tied it with two from the charity stripe with 1:55 remaining, before Hunter gave GSU its final lead, 38-36, with two free throws with 21.6 seconds remaining.
Georgia Southern had two final long-range shots to win the game but Mike Hughes and Ferguson both missed deep 3-pointers as the Panthers defense held firm to clinch the win.
Georgia State improved to 8-2 as a No. 1 seed in conference tournament history. The 24 wins are the third-most in school history.
The Panthers will learn its NCAA tournament fate at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday night.
